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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 30th Aug 2021 at 4:19 AM
Default Black Mesh Problem
Hi, Does anyone know what would make a mesh show up completely black in bodyshop and in game when it looks normal on milkshape?
is there a setting in SimPE I need to sort out or something?

I've attached video link of what it looks like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bL8v7Ra77o
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 30th Aug 2021 at 5:26 PM
If it's your files (mesh + recolor), can you upload them? It's easier to figure out by taking a look in the files than seeing it on a video, as it could be a few different things, both related to the mesh assigning and settings in the recolor file.

The Milkshape file would also be useful (it can be an issue with the "normals", the shadow/highlights in the mesh faces - this can be a bit difficult to spot if you're fairly new to meshing, but if the mesh looks more black than grey without a texture added in Milkshape, this could be the problem).
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 31st Aug 2021 at 2:52 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
If it's your files (mesh + recolor), can you upload them? It's easier to figure out by taking a look in the files than seeing it on a video, as it could be a few different things, both related to the mesh assigning and settings in the recolor file.

The Milkshape file would also be useful (it can be an issue with the "normals", the shadow/highlights in the mesh faces - this can be a bit difficult to spot if you're fairly new to meshing, but if the mesh looks more black than grey without a texture added in Milkshape, this could be the problem).


Hello =)
I convert meshes from other video games for my sim neighborhood all the time, so I can upload two examples for you =)
for some reason when I converted a helmet that had the same problem to a decor object the texture was normal.
Attached files:
File Type: rar  FF15.rar (1.19 MB, 3 downloads)
File Type: rar  Helmet.rar (1.13 MB, 3 downloads)
Mad Poster
#4 Old 31st Aug 2021 at 5:19 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 31st Aug 2021 at 5:45 AM.
The clothing mesh is turned inside out, so that's probably why it's looking like that.

It is fixable, but requires a lot of tinkering to get the mesh "normals" back into place. You have to do "Face --> Reverse vertex order" and then fix the normals, but it's best to do so piece by piece, because if you do "Vertex --> align normals" or "Cat's normal smoother" (if you have that plugin) on the entire mesh, you still get a lot of black spots in the mesh. I tend to do it piece by piece.

If you're using Blender at any point in this to convert meshes, and you're exporting as OBJ, I've found these settings don't screw up the normals or turn the mesh inside out: https://i.postimg.cc/d0bRhWRH/Screenshot-New-159a.jpg

Also, the clothing mesh has a "noblend" mesh group that seems to be unused. In most meshes that are conversions from other games, the "Body" group is used for skin parts, and (unless there aren't any skin parts, in which case you can use the "body" group for everything) the "Noblend" is used for anything that can't be easily mapped onto the "Body" group. If the texture is linked to the unused "Noblend" group, that's probably another reason why the texture shows up black.

If you use anything else than a 1024x1024 texture, always use the Noblend group for the mesh and texture - the Body group overlays the skin and doesn't work well with other sizes (it's fixable, but you can get some annoying issues with it, so using that second group is preferable). If you can, remap to a 1024x1024, because it is better for the game (TS2 isn't too fond of larger textures).

---

The hat is mostly fine, but the texture issue probably comes from the UVmap being outside the UV area (it's an issue for CAS meshes, but object meshes tile the textures so the same issue doesn't seem to happen on them).

It's easy to fix in Milkshape - make sure the "Frame" group is selected via the Groups tab, apply the texture/material on the mesh in the Materials tab, then go to "Window --> Texture Coordinate Editor" (from here make sure you don't click in any of the view windows, the coordinates should show white with red dots through the whole process), click "move", make sure "Frame" is selected in the dropdown list, write "1.0" in the second "Offset" window (the first one should be "0,0"), and click "M". The UV coordinates should jump down into place in the texture, instead of hovering in the grey area.

Once you've done this, export the mesh again (as Unimesh), and reimport into SimPE. The textures should be fixed.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#5 Old 1st Sep 2021 at 2:54 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
The clothing mesh is turned inside out, so that's probably why it's looking like that.

It is fixable, but requires a lot of tinkering to get the mesh "normals" back into place. You have to do "Face --> Reverse vertex order" and then fix the normals, but it's best to do so piece by piece, because if you do "Vertex --> align normals" or "Cat's normal smoother" (if you have that plugin) on the entire mesh, you still get a lot of black spots in the mesh. I tend to do it piece by piece.

If you're using Blender at any point in this to convert meshes, and you're exporting as OBJ, I've found these settings don't screw up the normals or turn the mesh inside out: https://i.postimg.cc/d0bRhWRH/Screenshot-New-159a.jpg

Also, the clothing mesh has a "noblend" mesh group that seems to be unused. In most meshes that are conversions from other games, the "Body" group is used for skin parts, and (unless there aren't any skin parts, in which case you can use the "body" group for everything) the "Noblend" is used for anything that can't be easily mapped onto the "Body" group. If the texture is linked to the unused "Noblend" group, that's probably another reason why the texture shows up black.

If you use anything else than a 1024x1024 texture, always use the Noblend group for the mesh and texture - the Body group overlays the skin and doesn't work well with other sizes (it's fixable, but you can get some annoying issues with it, so using that second group is preferable). If you can, remap to a 1024x1024, because it is better for the game (TS2 isn't too fond of larger textures).

---

The hat is mostly fine, but the texture issue probably comes from the UVmap being outside the UV area (it's an issue for CAS meshes, but object meshes tile the textures so the same issue doesn't seem to happen on them).

It's easy to fix in Milkshape - make sure the "Frame" group is selected via the Groups tab, apply the texture/material on the mesh in the Materials tab, then go to "Window --> Texture Coordinate Editor" (from here make sure you don't click in any of the view windows, the coordinates should show white with red dots through the whole process), click "move", make sure "Frame" is selected in the dropdown list, write "1.0" in the second "Offset" window (the first one should be "0,0"), and click "M". The UV coordinates should jump down into place in the texture, instead of hovering in the grey area.

Once you've done this, export the mesh again (as Unimesh), and reimport into SimPE. The textures should be fixed.


Thank you this has really helped me! I did what you wrote with the hat and fixed it
I haven't attempted to fix the clothing mesh yet.
Mad Poster
#6 Old 1st Sep 2021 at 3:20 AM
That's good
Let me know if you need some more help with the clothing mesh.
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